http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_1064...ent-Iraqi.html
A new security plan for Baghdad aimed at clearing the streets of all militias and insurgents will be "100 per cent Iraqi," with the US military in a supportive role, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki insisted Thursday.
Al-Maliki told the Iraqi parliament that it was the first time an operation of this size would be under Iraqi command. "The role of the US-led coalition forces would be "backing the Iraqi forces," he said.
According to al-Maliki, the new plan to disarm all insurgents and militias was not directed towards any specific Iraqi group as it "neither targets Shiites nor Sunnis," but was aimed at "all outlaws."
Baghdad has been divided into nine areas that are subject to both police and army leadership at the same time, according to the security plan.
The plan, which is due to come into operation in February, was intended to give Iraqi field generals "better jurisdiction."
Al-Maliki said the government intended to prepare the Iraqi armed forces and make them capable of "clamping down on terrorists' home bases."
The new security plan is due to come into operation in February. Around 200 out of 275 Iraqi parliamentary members attended the sitting for al-Maliki's speech. Absenteeism tends to be high as members are afraid of attacks and there are often as few as 150 in attendance.
A fine of 500 dollars for absences has been introduced. However, it has not so far been enforced.
Also on Thursday, Adil Abdul Mahdi, Iraqi Vice-President said at the World Economic Forum meeting, that he believed in bringing more Iraqi troops to Baghdad. "If we can win this war in Baghdad, we can change the course of events," he said.
He welcomed a proposal to hold a regional forum with Iraq's neighbours and interested countries as part of a bid to reduce tension in the region.
The US embassy in Iraq on Thursday confirmed that five US security guards working for a private firm were killed Tuesday while protecting embassy employees attending a routine meeting.
The five, who worked for security firm Blackwater, were killed during the attack in eastern Baghdad on Tuesday. The five were employed to protect US diplomats and missions in Iraq.
The US Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, "regretted" the deaths, the US military reported.
Four of the guards were reportedly killed when their helicopter, which had been providing aerial protection for the building in which the meeting was taking place, came under heavy insurgent attack and was downed.
The fifth guard was killed as he sat aboard a second helicopter, the embassy said.
Two Sunni insurgent groups, the Islamic Army in Iraq and Ansar al- Sunna, have claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, four Iraqis were killed and 20 others injured in central Baghdad when a motorbike bomb exploded in the busy market of Shurja, sources said Thursday.
Iraqi police and army forces blocked the roads leading to the explosion site to prevent people from gathering in case there were other bombs in the area.
In another development, the official announcement of the death sentence of former Iraqi vice president, Taha Yassin Ramadan, will be postponed till February 12, the lead judge in the tribunal said Thursday.
The session was held up because "neither complainants nor their lawyers were present," he said.
Ramadan appeared alone behind bars during the session.
A life sentence against Ramadan was turned into a death sentence by an appeals court. According to Iraqi law, he must be executed within 30 days of the announcement of the sentence.
Like former president Saddam and two other functionaries of his regime already hanged, Ramadan was found guilty of the murder of 148 Shiites in the city of Dujail in 1982.
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Al-Maliki Says New Security Plan Is "100 Per Cent Iraqi"
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem." Ronald Reagan 
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